February 11, 2012

RECORD-SETTER: NFL Games Top Local Ratings 88 Percent of Time in 2008

RECORD-SETTER: NFL Games Top Local Ratings 88 Percent of Time in 2008

NFL GAMES TOP RATINGS IN ALL 30 MARKETS IN WEEK 17

With playoff berths and positioning up for grabs, NFL games topped the local ratings in all 30 NFL markets last week (Dec. 22-28).

For the season, NFL games were the highest rated program locally a record 88 percent of the time – topping the mark set last season (86 percent). By comparison, NFL games topped local NFL market ratings 73 percent of the time five years ago (in 2003) and 55 percent of the time in 2001.

Nationally, NFL games accounted for four of the five most-watched shows among all programs last week. The FOX doubleheader game on Sunday (mostly Cowboys-Eagles) was the week’s most-watched show with 20.8 million viewers, followed by the Sunday night Broncos-Chargers game on NBC with 14.8 million viewers. The Week 16 ESPN Monday night game (Packers-Bears on Dec. 22) was fourth with 13.8 million viewers and Sunday’s CBS regional game (mostly Dolphins-Jets) was fifth with 12.7 million viewers.

Following are the NFL markets where football was the top-rated program for the week of Dec. 22-28:

Week of 12/22-28

HH

HH

RTG

Market

Game

Date

RTG

SHR

Rank

Pittsburgh

Browns @ Steelers

12/28/08

43.2

73

1

Milwaukee

Packers @ Bears

12/22/08

39.6

58

1

San Diego

Broncos @ Chargers

12/28/08

37.4

58

1

Minneapolis

Giants @ Vikings +

Bonus Coverage

12/28/08

34.7

70

1

Indianapolis

Titans @ Colts +

Bonus Coverage

12/28/08

34.4

59

1

Baltimore

Jaguars @ Ravens

12/28/08

33.3

50

1

Philadelphia

Cowboys @ Eagles

12/28/08

33.1

55

1

Chicago*

Packers @ Bears

12/22/08

32.9

51

1

Nashville

Titans @ Colts

12/28/08

32.1

57

1

Boston

Patriots @ Bills

12/28/08

30.8

61

1

Denver

Broncos @ Chargers

12/28/08

30.6

49

1

Buffalo

Patriots @ Bills

12/28/08

29.9

56

1

Dallas

Cowboys @ Eagles

12/28/08

29.8

54

1

New Orleans

Panthers @ Saints

12/28/08

28.5

43

1

Charlotte

Panthers @ Saints

12/28/08

28.0

49

1

Miami

Dolphins @ Jets

12/28/08

26.4

49

1

Tampa Bay

Raiders @ Buccaneers

12/28/08

26.4

55

1

Atlanta

Rams @ Falcons

12/28/08

24.8

49

1

Cleveland

Browns @ Steelers

12/28/08

24.5

51

1

Cincinnati

Chiefs @ Bengals

12/28/08

23.5

45

1

Washington, DC

Redskins @ 49ers

12/28/08

23.0

42

1

Kansas City

Chiefs @ Bengals

12/28/08

21.8

46

1

Detroit

Lions @ Packers

12/28/08

21.3

44

1

Jacksonville

Jaguars @ Ravens +

Bonus Coverage

12/28/08

19.6

32

1

Phoenix

Seahawks @ Cardinals

12/28/08

19.5

40

1

New York

Giants @ Vikings +

Bonus Coverage

12/28/08

19.2

39

1

Seattle

Seahawks @ Cardinals

12/28/08

18.5

42

1

St. Louis

Rams @ Falcons

12/28/08

16.9

33

1

Houston

Bears @ Texans

12/28/08

14.6

32

1

San Fran-Oakland

Redskins @ 49ers

12/28/08

14.1

37

1

* Local affiliate & ESPN combined

Source: NFL & Nielsen Media Research

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